Hi Bobby,

On 9/3/2015 5:54 AM, Robert Green wrote:
"Don Y" wrote in message
...
On 9/2/2015 5:31 PM, Robert Green wrote:

Who here hasn't had a problem fishing a long cord from an equipment
stack like that? Or unplugged the wrong item? I try to label cords at
the
plug end just to be sure.

I bought a cheap P-touch label maker for that. The labels are "printed"
on ~1/2 wide vinyl (?) tape. I lay the label *along* the cord (power
cord, CAT5 cable, etc.). The 1/2" height of the label is not enough
to make it's way all the way around the cable (just *barely* makes
it around a CAT5 patch cord) so would easily fall off or be peeled off
when pulling cables.

I bought a few when they were selling as refurbs for less that $20 for the
full keyboard model that connects to a PC.

Cool! I just bought one of the el cheapo's when Costco had them on sale.
I did so because I had "rescued" several new "ribbon" cartridges; I figured
I could afford to throw the whole thing in the trash when I ran out! :

I guess it's like King Gillette:
give away the razors to sell the blades (or in this case, blank label tape).

Exactly. (I always use toilet paper dispenser in place of your "razors"
example)

So, I use 2" wide cellophane packing tape cut to the length of the label
plus half an inch or so. Then, wrap it *around* the cable and label
to effectively protect and secure the label.

I've discovered that trick too because without it the labels flex off after
a period of time.

The packing tape will also start to come loose (at the edge) over time.
But, so far, hasn't come *off*.

Dymo makes a tape with a very aggressive glue but it's
very expensive and hard to remove when you want to. The clear tape overlay
makes removing old labels easy.

I have a much larger labeler (Kroy K2000):
http://members.tripod.com/~HANOVER_TECHNICAL/kroy03.html
that prints on heat-shrink tubing. A better solution -- but impractical
for cables with "connectors" already on both ends!

These folks make a nice outlet strip for wall warts:
http://www.amazon.com/Furman-PLUGLOCK-5-Feet-Metal-Strip/dp/B001OMGZLQ
but it is insanely expensive!

Check out a similar item at Harbor Freight. About $20 for a 4 foot black
anodized strip with 12 outlets.

Really? I'll have to look. Getting strips with the outlets "facing"
the right direction is a chore. The Lowe's strip (below) has everything
"just right"... but, it's too long (I need something around 2.5-3').
When I disassembled it to try to just "elide" one outlet, I was
disappointed to find that it was essentially one large assembly wrapped in
a metal case. :

Lowe's has some that are suitable but, in my case, a bit too long.
As most of the guts were of molded plastic, I couldn't even cut it
down to size!

I've resigned myself to fabricating something. One of my workstations
has more than a dozen wall warts and I'd like to be able to switch them
individually on/off without having to unplug (or, unplug).

That gets to be expensive. I have an old power strip that has individually
switched outlets I got at a thrift store for a few bucks but that probably
cost well over $100 when new.

If I can get the mechanical aspects (i.e., a case that I can mount
singleton receptacles in), then the rest of the components are
essentially free -- pick them from my parts bins. But, the case
the right length and outlet orientation is the ****er.

Thankfully (?), many of my devices use enough power to warrant *bricks*
instead of wall warts.

It used to be that bricks came with removable D cords to make replacing them
somewhat easier but I haven't seen one like that in a while. Must be a cost
thing.

All of my bricks (save one that I found for the P-Touch unit) have removable
power cords. I have cords in various lengths: 1', 3', 5-6', 12', etc.
So, I arrange to use the shortest cord possible (to keep the amount of
"cord clutter" down to a minimum).

I have a few bricks with Mickey's. Unfortunately, all of those cords are
the same length (apparently?).